Covid-19: the United States accelerates its fight against the pandemic, Beijing is partly reconfiguring itself

As Joe Biden's arrival at the White House signals the return of the United States to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world is taking new steps to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus and of its new variants: confinements in China, curfew in the Netherlands ... In Europe, new border controls are being discussed.

To not miss any of the latest highlights related to Covid-19,

Le Figaro

takes stock of the latest news for this Thursday, January 21.

• The United States steps up the fight against the pandemic

Invested in Washington on Wednesday, Joe Biden reaffirmed that the fight against the coronavirus was among the country's priorities.

Among the first measures, he ordered the return of the United States to the World Health Organization (WHO), after the withdrawal decided by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2020, and signed a decree making the wearing of the mask and mandatory physical distancing for US officials working in federal buildings.

The coronavirus toll in the United States exceeds that of American soldiers killed in World War II.

There have been 405,400 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The most bereaved country in absolute terms, the United States is also the most affected country in terms of the number of cases (more than 24.4 million).

• Beijing is partly reconfiguring itself

Chinese authorities on Wednesday reported the first cases in Beijing linked to the British variant.

Beijing announced the strict containment of five residences in Daxing, a suburb in the south of the capital, after the discovery of new cases.

This confinement concerns a few tens of thousands of people, a small fraction of the 21 million inhabitants of the city.

Several hundred patients have been identified in recent weeks in the north and northeast of the country, where millions of people have been confined or must restrict their movements.

Read also: Caught up by the Covid-19, China responds quickly and strongly

• In France, ski resorts remain closed

In France, it will still not be possible to go downhill skiing in the country.

The authorities decided on Wednesday not to reopen the ski lifts on February 1.

During a press conference organized by telephone this Wednesday, January 20, the Secretary of State for Tourism extinguished the meager hope of winter sport professionals.

"

There will be no reopening of ski resorts on February 1, and the prospect of reopening in mid or late February seems highly unlikely,

" he said.

• European summit, border controls under discussion

In Europe, the Twenty-Seven meet Thursday evening for a new summit by videoconference devoted to the fight against the pandemic, at a time when several countries, like Germany, toughen their measures to try to counter the spread of the new strains.

Response to variants, acceleration of vaccination and establishment of a common certificate are on the agenda.

The French government also said on Wednesday it was in favor of health controls at intra-European borders, an option that German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not rule out on Tuesday.

• The variants continue their routes

Coronavirus mutations continue to spread around the world.

The British variant, much more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, is now identified in 60 countries and territories, according to the WHO.

The South African variant spreads more slowly and is present in 23 countries and territories, 3 more than on January 12.

But it risks posing another problem: several new studies seem to confirm that, unlike the English variant, it risks at least partially escaping the expected protection of vaccines against Covid-19.

WHO has also indicated that it is monitoring the dissemination of two other variants that have appeared in Brazil, P1, reported in the state of Amazonas and also detected in Japan in four people from Brazil, and another variant.

Read also: Covid-19: these three variants that scare the world

• A curfew in the Netherlands

The Netherlands have announced a curfew from Friday until February 10, which will run from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

The measure should make it possible to reduce home contact and combat the phenomenon of clandestine parties, according to the Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge.

Until now, the Dutch could accommodate two people over the age of 13 in their homes.

This number is reduced to a single contact person.

• Acceleration of vaccinations around the world

To date, according to an AFP count, at least 60 countries or territories, comprising 61% of the world's population, have launched their vaccination campaign.

But 11 countries concentrate 90% of the injected doses.

The Russian authorities have filed an application for registration in the European Union of the Sputnik V vaccine and are awaiting a "first examination (of the documents sent, note) in February".

In Turkey, the authorities announced that they had vaccinated more than a million people in less than a week.

• Record of deaths in UK

The UK hit a new daily Covid-19 mortality record, with 1,820 dead on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom announced that it will close its borders to arrivals from all countries in South America and Portugal as of Wednesday due to the new Brazilian variant.

In Ireland, the famous St. Patrick's Day Parade scheduled for March 17 in Dublin has been canceled for the second year in a row.

• Maintenance of the Tokyo Olympics

Despite the global health situation, officials for the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled for this summer after being postponed last year, said they were "inflexible" on this new calendar, not excluding, however, that the competitions are held without spectators.

• Emergency situation in Brazil

In Manaus, Amazonas state, doctors are struck by the virulence of the second wave, which has overwhelmed hospitals, facing a dramatic shortage of oxygen, and question the link with the Brazilian variants .

The rapidity of the deterioration of the state of health of the patients is surprising.

Read also: Covid-19: the Brazilian variant suspected in the new disaster that hits the city of Manaus

The pandemic has killed a total of at least 2,058,226 people around the world, according to an AFP report on Wednesday.